Accursed
by jessara40k
Summary: Yami no Bakura has spent all his 'life' under a curse that compels him to obey one person, first his mother, then Zork, and now Honda inadvertently replaced them. Ryou's worried about him.


Ryou'd worked around Zork and by extension Bakura to make sure that once he'd gotten _Yami_ to kill his family's pet demon Bakura at least would get a body of his own. He blessed Bakura for the lessons in Shadow Magic he'd been able to get when Zork wasn't paying attention; even though the demon'd ordered Bakura to terrorise Ryou on the assumption that would keep him from interfering after the first time his ura had found a way around that. It had helped that Ryou had _never_ allowed himself to use more than the tiniest fraction of his power during the lessons, that way Bakura'd been able to justify the lessons after Zork awoke as a way to scare Ryou with his inadequacies. Before then...even though Bakura _had _stolen the souls of his 'friends' it had always been at times when it was becoming obvious that they were pulling away from him, that they'd gotten tired of using him.

"Are you sure you have enough Shadow Magic to make this work Bakura-sama?" Ryou let his doubt show in his voice. If the board had just been set up to fulfil Bakura's plan, even the one he never admitted to having consciously where Zork could sense it there wouldn't be a problem. Even with so much of his power denied to him and working to keep him as Zork's slave and his full power locked away he was almost Yami's equal (and _Ryou_ was Yami's better in accessible Shadow Magic power) but Ryou needed to goad Zork into forcing Bakura to use all of his power for _his_ plan to work, the one he'd concocted based on hints and clues Bakura had given him about his past. "You didn't use as much power last time you set up a tabletop RPG to use against Yami, and you aren't quite as powerful as he is..."

Use _all_ of your power to prepare the game my pretty thief. Ryou fell to his knees as Zork's voice echoed through Bakura's mind into his and gave up control, watching from his soul room as Bakura exhausted himself pouring enough power into the board to create at least his own body besides trapping the players into the game. And Ryou added his own power, unnoticed because Bakura was using everything he had and so Zork couldn't tell how much power it truly was. Even Zork added some of his own power, hopefully that would include powering the traps Ryou had designed to weaken him and give Yami a better chance of victory. Ryou didn't think he'd trained Yami enough, but he couldn't put it off much longer in the hope of getting him trained better.

He was lying curled on the floor when Bakura finished, having poured so much of his power out that he was barely conscious and certainly incapable of controlling the body. But better yet, _Zork_ was resting too, unaware of what they were doing thanks to the doubts Ryou had planted as to Bakura's power.

:Are you all right Bakura-kun: He could afford to treat the spirit as a friend when Zork wasn't aware of what was happening between them.

-I...I've never been allowed to use that much power. And you added your power to the mix and persuaded Zork to add his somehow as well. Y-you could be stronger than the Pharaoh if you wanted. Why don't you just use your power?- Ryou knew that what he was actually asking was why he'd let Bakura deal with bullies and traitorous 'friends' for him.

:I was never trained in how to use my Shadow Magic, until we found each other, you were trained from birth, and..._he_ trained you as well.: Ryou could feel Bakura shuddering at that.

-It's nothing to envy Yadonushi-sama.- Now that Zork wasn't listening to them the mocking title the spirit always used was truly respectful.

:I never thought it was. But it is why I couldn't deal with the bullies myself. I'm not as physically strong as you were and I couldn't use my Shadow Magic as well as you could. And I won't risk letting Zork know what I can do until he's gone.: Ryou stood and glanced at the board one last time before walking through to his bedroom.

-D-do you think that's possible?-

:I don't know. But he could be destroyed in this game, he knows it's a risk because Yami is of the family he came from. We can always hope.:

-_He_ only cares that I obey him, he likes it that I'm scared of and hate him. Or I couldn't even hope he dies.- There was an element of despair in Bakura's response. -I...didn't think it would take that power to do what _he_ wanted with the game...-

:It didn't, but you don't need to know anything else Bakura-kun.: The spirit accepted that and subsided.

-o0()0o-

As everyone emerged from the game Ryou watched anxiously. He knew _precisely_ why he'd been refused entry to the Memory Game, even if everyone else had been confused. He saw the oh so perfect - and hypocritical - Pharaoh as nothing more than a tool, the way he viewed the deaths and tortured souls of Bakura's kin. And of course he was too powerful - and had too much control of his power - to be allowed in. Yugi and Yami were the first to emerge, and everyone was so busy exclaiming over how _wonderful_ it was that they were separated that no one noticed Bakura returning to a body of his own last, until he dropped to his knees, screaming as blood poured from the scar on his right cheek.

"Don't even think about attacking him _Atemu_. I might have hidden it, for _his_ sake, not to waste the one secret he managed to keep from the demon _your_ family created that controlled him using the curse _your_ uncle put on him when he was born, but my Shadow Magic outclasses yours totally." Ryou flared his power for everyone with any sensitivity to feel, stopping Yugi, Yami and Jounouchi in their tracks as they moved towards Bakura. :Bakura-kun, do you want someone to claim you, or try to wait it out in the hope if you're unclaimed for long enough the curse will be broken:

-W-wait it out Yadonushi-sama. I-if I'm going to die you can claim me. I lasted almost a day from my parents' deaths until Zork claimed me.-

:All right.: Ryou knelt beside Bakura, stroking his back in inadequate comfort. He didn't like the idea of just watching as Bakura suffered, but he wouldn't enslave the other, not if he could help it. He was so focused on comforting Bakura that he didn't notice Honda coming forward until he'd pulled Bakura away and to his feet, getting the blood on his hand and sealing Bakura's fate as he did. Ryou instantly stood and used his Shadow Magic to boost his speed and strength as he delivered a backhand across Honda's face, knocking him halfway across the room. "You bastard!" He used more Shadow Magic to keep the others from interfering. "Did it pass through your pathetic excuse for a mind that I wasn't touching his blood or doing more than offering Bakura-kun comfort for a _reason_? I should-" Ryou was cut off by the spirit in question putting a shaking hand on his arm.

"Pl-please Yadonushi-sama."

"Congratulations, you now own a slave. I haven't been able to find a way to _remove_ the curse or get around it, and neither has he in three thousand years of trying. Of course I could always kill you and hope that if no one claims him he'll survive long enough that the curse will break. And I _will_ if you hurt him." Ryou frowned and glanced at Bakura, taking hold of the more muscular and slightly taller boy. :And you wouldn't be able to stop me. Not unless you told him about your blocked power and he ordered you to use it in his defence. I know you have to defend him because of the curse, but I don't.: Bakura just shut his eyes and bowed his head, waiting for Honda to give him the orders he _knew_ would come. "Atemu. Do you know _why_ Bakura-kun was cursed? He's related to you, did you know? Second cousin, and if not for the curse your uncle put on him your father would have been obliged to adopt him and raise him as his heir."

"The people of Kuru Eruna were not thieves, they were refugees, and very powerful in their magic, it just wasn't Shadow Magic. My father married my mother as part of a peace treaty, and that's why they went to Kuru Eruna when your uncle betrayed them." Bakura sounded almost ashamed, Ryou didn't like that, but there was nothing he could do to change it. Then the spirit's attention turned to Honda as he got up. "Well, _master_, do you have any orders for me?"

"Yes. I can't take you into my home, my parents would ask questions. But Ryou, will he still be living with you?" Ryou nodded stiffly, not too happy about the way this was going, but knowing better than to intervene without any apparent cause. "Then you'll obey Ryou and you won't hurt anyone." Bakura looked as if he wanted to say something, but Honda turned and walked away while Ryou was speechless with fury at the teen's judgemental attitude.

-o0()0o-

Ryou shouldn't have been surprised to find Bakura waiting for him naked in his bed that night. There was somewhere else he could sleep, another bed Ryou'd bought when he was planning his manipulation of Zork's plan, but he _knew_ how vulnerable the thief really was emotionally; how he'd been trained to be emotionally dependent all of his life and couldn't break the habit. Ryou sighed and began changing into his pyjamas - no point in modesty, since Bakura'd seen all of his body when he was possessing Ryou.

"If you need clothes you can wear anything you want of mine, at least until we get you some of your own." He'd been too angry at Honda to explain that to him earlier and Bakura had sensed his anger and avoided him. "Should I get you some pyjamas out?"

"If it would please you Yadonushi-sama. You...don't you...want..." Ryou knew that the word Bakura didn't speak was 'me', and he didn't know what to say to that. He hurried over to his bed and pulled Bakura into his arms, letting the other teen nuzzle at his chest for comfort, stroking his back reassuringly.

"You're beautiful, but...if I slept with you I'd feel as if I was taking advantage of you. And I love you too much to do that." Like a brother, or like what a friend meant back when he'd been alive at first, more than as a lover, but love was love and why confuse him. But that was a lost cause, he'd already confused Bakura by telling him that he loved him and then not bedding him and Ryou could sense that.

"I don't understand." Sometime since Honda and the others had left Bakura's speech pattern had changed, he was using sessha for I, instead of ore-sama. Ryou'd expected him to change now that he didn't belong to Zork anymore, and didn't have to sound as if he was demanding the proper respect for the demon's avatar, but to ore without any suffix, or boku at most.

"Don't do that."

"Y-Yadonushi-sama?" Fear filled his voice, fear and confusion, he didn't even realise what he was doing.

"You will not use sessha to refer to yourself. You may use boku or ore, it is up to you, but not sessha...and not ore-sama either."

"Yes Yadonushi-sama." Ryou didn't really like the way Bakura called him that either, but he wouldn't say anything about it yet. "W-why won't you...t-take me?" He'd decided on boku it seemed and with the way he was pressing against Ryou he was having a hard time keeping from being aroused.

"Why do you want me to take you? Or do you even want me to take you? If you just feel that you're under some obligation to let me have you then I promise you that you aren't."

"I need to feel that I'm yours. I...words aren't enough, _this_ isn't enough. I'm sorry to be so weak." His voice was choked with tears and Ryou realised he had no other options.

"I'm not angry with you, and I don't blame you. None of this is your fault. And you _aren't_ weak; I admire your strength in admitting that you're scared." Ryou stroked Bakura's back, and reluctantly accepted that he'd have to bed Bakura to make him feel safe. If he could think of anything else that would work he'd have done it, but he couldn't. But he didn't have to fuck him and Ryou was pretty sure that Bakura was a virgin in this body anyway. So was Ryou, but...

"If you're certain you want me to then I'll have sex with you, but I want you inside me, not the other way around."

"Y-Yadonushi-sama, I-I can't!" He lifted his head looking at Ryou in shock and horror. "Pl-please, don't make me do that. My master told me to serve you, I don't have the right to..."

"I'll feel as if I'm taking advantage of you anyway. At least if you top I know I won't be hurting you."

"You'd rather risk letting me hurt you?" He sounded shocked and puzzled. "But I don't know _how_ to top. I've never..." Bakura began shaking again, refusing to look at Ryou. "Pl-please, don't ask me to do this. I-I won't...feel like I'm yours unless..." Unless Ryou fucked him. But if Bakura'd never fucked someone before, he might be able to work out what to do from what he'd felt on the other end, but not if he didn't believe he could. "And you'll be gentler than _he_ was." And certainly not if he'd never been with anyone consensually - Zork certainly didn't count as consensual.

"Alright. Just stay there, I need to get some things." Ryou kept his condoms and lube in the bathroom. "But you could masturbate while you're waiting if you want."

"Y-yes Yadonushi-sama." One hand went to Bakura's nipples, the other to his mouth as Ryou turned away.

-o0()0o-

When he got back Ryou found Bakura with an erection and two fingers inside himself. He couldn't have had time to do that slowly enough to be pleasant...could he?

"What are you doing Bakura-kun?" The other looked up at Ryou, and something just a little like fear passed over his face.

"Pre-preparing myself for you Yadonushi-sama. D-didn't you want me to?"

"You don't have any lube, that has to hurt." Did Bakura think Ryou wasn't going to bother preparing him or something? From his reaction Ryou had a sinking feeling the answer was 'no', that he thought the only preparation he'd get was the dry stretching he was doing while Ryou got the lube. "Just lie back. If I do something you don't like then _tell_ me." He'd expected that would go without saying, but apparently not.

"Yes Yadonushi-sama." Bakura lay back, shivering slightly, his hands by his sides. Ryou lay beside him, gently pressing one fingertip against his entrance, using their link to see if it hurt. It didn't so Ryou backed off, and began exploring the rest of Bakura's body, with his fingertips and then with his mouth, focusing initially on the places that felt best when _Ryou_ was playing with himself, but shifting focus when he realised Bakura didn't react the same way. Ryou didn't get much from playing with his nipples, but apparently Bakura did, and he liked rougher play than Ryou did, light scratches along his flank worked better than the almost tickling touches Ryou enjoyed at the base of his ribs. And nibbling at Bakura's neck and collarbone sent him into near raptures, so much that he stiffened and came against Ryou's legs just from that, and from Ryou playing with and gently pinching his nipples.

"Oh Ra! I'm sorry Yadonushi-sama. I didn't mean to-" Bakura sounded almost panicked and Ryou quickly cut him off.

"No, but _I_ meant you to. It'll make it easier on you when I prepare you, if you haven't undone all the work I've put into getting you relaxed by panicking like that. Now, why don't you start undressing me?" Ryou rose to kneel above Bakura and the spirit obediently started unfastening the buttons on his pyjama shirt. He was aroused, but not as much as Bakura had been, only half hard and he knew that would bother his ura. But there wasn't really anything he could do about that immediately. Bakura made a small distressed sound as he pulled Ryou's trousers down, and once Ryou'd gotten them off he sat back on his heels, pulling Bakura into his lap.

"It's alright. Wrap your legs around my waist, just like that. Put one arm around my shoulders and give me your other hand." Bakura obeyed and Ryou placed it at the base of his left ribs. "Now, I want you to suck at my earlobes and lick the area of skin just behind my ears and use that hand to almost tickle me. Light teasing touches. I'll let you know if you're doing anything wrong. And stop if it gets uncomfortable for you in some way."

"Yes Yadonushi-sama." Bakura sounded almost happy now, and Ryou could feel his returning arousal. While Bakura obeyed, building Ryou's arousal he began to use one hand to prepare him properly, using the lube and stretching him slowly, and the other to scratch along his flank, occasionally slipping it between their bodies to tease his nipples. And as he could Ryou bit lightly at Bakura's neck. He wanted Bakura to be eager to be filled when he took him; as far as Ryou was concerned the point of this was to make the sex good for Bakura, not for him. By the time he'd gotten up to three fingers Bakura pushed just a little bit away from him, tears in his eyes.

"Pl-please, just take me now. I won't last much longer."

"Get on your hands and knees then." According to Ryou's research on the subject that was the best position for virgins. It was quicker than it should have been to make it good for his lover, Ryou was so overwhelmed by Bakura's tight heat that he came inside of a dozen thrusts, leaving Bakura still hard. So he reached around and jerked him off, only needing a few strokes for that.

"Come on." Ryou didn't really have much energy left, but he stood up and pulled Bakura to his feet. "We'll take a shower together, then we can sleep in the other bed." Bakura didn't say anything, simply smiled and nodded before following obediently.

-o0()0o-

Bakura'd woken up before Ryou the next day, leaving a pan of miso simmering on the hub, and when Ryou hunted him down to ask about his reactions the previous night he found the spirit in his bedroom, changing the sheets on the bed.

"You didn't need to do that." Ryou took the sheets from Bakura's hands, receiving a startled glance in return. "I'd have gotten around to it, after I'd woken up."

"I...want to be useful to you Yadonushi-sama. I can't help you the way I used to." There was an element of fear in his voice that bothered Ryou, did he think Ryou'd throw him out or something?

"Your place with me isn't dependent on how useful you can be Bakura-kun. Did you eat this morning?" It only just occurred to Ryou then that Bakura might not have eaten based on how much like a servant he was acting, a servant or a slave.

"Before you got up Yadonushi-sama."

"Good. I wanted to talk to you anyway, before we went shopping for some clothes for you. We can talk while we're taking care of this."

"As you wish Yadonushi-sama." Ryou winced at the title.

"First, I'd prefer it if you used my name, my personal name, since you don't have a familial name and _I'm_ using your personal name." Ryou frowned, thinking about that. "And we need to find a way to get you a legal ID as well. We should ask Kaiba-san about that."

"I'll try to use your name Ryou-sama, it's just..."

"It's alright, I won't be angry with you if you don't use my name. Secondly, last night, did you enjoy it? I could tell it was good for you physically, but that doesn't necessarily mean you enjoyed it."

"Oh, yes, I loved it Yad-Ryou-sama." Ryou hated having that particular honorific attached to his name, the question now was if that was better or worse than being called Yadonushi-sama. "You made me feel as if you _cared_ about me." And it sounded as if that was a totally foreign concept to him.

"Bakura-kun. What sort of sexual experience have you had in the past? You told me last night that you've never topped..." Ryou wasn't sure how to explain what he wanted to know, or what he feared.

"I...just Zork, and a few of Pharaoh's priests when I was captured once. _He_ said I deserved what they did to me for failing him so badly as to be captured." They'd just put the sheets into the washing machine when Bakura said that, letting Ryou pull him into a comforting embrace as he shivered.

"I've always cared about you, I swear."

"Truly?"

"Why do you think I bothered adjusting the board so you'd get your own body at the end?" Bakura blushed and bowed his head, waiting as Ryou set the washing machine to working.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't doubt you Ryou-sama." Ryou sighed, and pulled Bakura through to the kitchen to sit at the table with him.

"I'm not angry." Ryou had the feeling he'd be repeating this reassurance a _lot_ during the next few days. He knew that Zork punished Bakura every time he failed in an effort to get the Millennium Puzzle, over and beyond what Atemu did to him, and he probably punished him for other things as well. "You don't have to always apologise you know."

"If you say so Ryou-sama."

"You don't have to answer this if it's too painful for you, but did you think I wasn't going to prepare you last night or something?" Ryou felt a bit guilty about interrogating Bakura like that, but he needed to know, to help avoid potential pitfalls.

"No one else ever bothered. If I got some warning and had the freedom to I learned how to stretch myself beforehand, from painful experience, but...that didn't always happen." Bakura's voice was a bare whisper, and if he hadn't been echoing his words through their link Ryou might have missed what he was saying.

"I guess no one else ever bothered with foreplay either?"

"Foreplay? Is that what all that wonderful touching was before you took me? No, no one bothered arousing me beforehand." He bit his lip, glancing at Ryou uncertainly. "I...if I'd come before _him_, not that I even came very often, he punished me."

"Well I think it's only polite to make sure your partner enjoys it as well. Bakura, was last night enough to make you feel safe?"

"I...for now, yes. But...can I still sleep in your bed?"

"If you want. I guess that means we have to make it, don't we?"

-o0()0o-

Ryou ended up getting Kaiba to arrange a legal ID for his spirit, in the name Kuruna Bakura, while Atemu used the name Mutou Yami, instead of his true name. When he'd mentioned how surprised he was at that Bakura'd explained that keeping his true name secret would help in making sure people couldn't cast spells on him or use hostile magic against him. And that _Bakura_ had used his childhood name for so long that it had become his true name since he had no family surviving to give him his true name when he was old enough. The next hurdle had been getting the uras into school with them, fortunately Domino High didn't have very high entry requirements, even though Kaiba'd attended for a week before Ryou arrived. They still had to do the standard tests before joining, but they would be assigned to the same classes as the others _if_ they did well enough on the tests. Atemu was as confident about his ability to pass the tests as he was about everything else, and remembering the almost obsessive attention Bakura paid to _everything_ Ryou was equally confident about his abilities. But Bakura hadn't shared that confidence and Ryou had to comfort and reassure him before the tests started.

"Are you sure I can do this Ryou-sama? I don't want to disappoint you because I'm not good enough or smart enough."

"Don't say that. You help me with my schoolwork often enough. And I know you pay attention to what I learn. You've come closer to beating Atemu than anyone else ever has, I know you couldn't come up with those strategies without brains. The only question is whether _Atemu's_ good enough to join us." Bakura'd blushed deeply at that and bowed his head, murmuring a quiet 'Thank you' before going in to do the tests.

When he came back out he had a relieved smile on his face, while Atemu looked almost in a state of shock. Yugi pulled his ura into his arms in wordless comfort, and Ryou offered the same to his own ura.

"Better than you expected?"

"Yes. Much better Ryou-sama. I just hope I did as well as I think I did."

"I'm sure you did." Ryou ran one hand along Bakura's cheek before leading him out. They didn't get the actually results of the exams back, but they were told that Bakura would have no problems keeping up with the class - actually the administration suggested Bakura work with one of the more advanced classes, but agreed to let him stay with Ryou when they were asked. Atemu on the other hand was warned that he'd find it hard keeping up with the other students in Yugi's class, and advised to enter the year below him. (Ryou asked Bakura to steal Atemu's letter when he thought he could get away with it to find out how well he'd done.)

"Do you think he'll follow their advice Bakura-kun?"

"I doubt it Ryou-sama. He didn't even listen to his advisors a lot of the time back in Egypt. He'll convince himself that the tests were wrong somehow, especially if he finds out that my letter advised me to take a more advanced class than you take."

"Let's not tell him that then." Ryou made a face as he replied. "And we can always hope that he _is_ placed in the year below us, since there aren't any lower classes."

"I don't understand _why_ you aren't in a higher class yourself Ryou-sama. You're always in the top twenty percent; Yugi and his friends are in the bottom ten percent."

"Transfer students are always placed in the lowest class at first if they come in part way through the school year. I asked to stay with my friends as we moved to the next year."

Bakura was proved right on the first day of the school year, when Atemu arrived with Bakura, taking a seat beside Yugi as Bakura sat with Ryou. Since they weren't transferring in part way through the year, and they _weren't_ the only new students in the class no one expected the two spirits to introduce themselves they way Ryou'd introduced himself when he arrived. They'd had a little trouble before they got to class, three older new students tried to bully them since Ryou didn't walk to school with Yugi or his friends, and Bakura had just frozen, leaving Ryou to use his Shadow Magic against them. But it was something he'd practised, binding the bullies with Chain Energy and then simply walking around them and Ryou assumed Bakura was just giving him a chance to stand on his own two feet. That night Bakura finally began wearing his pyjamas in bed with Ryou, as he'd been trying to persuade him to without explicitly giving an order.

-o0()0o-

Over the next month Bakura's behaviour changed even more, he became withdrawn, but he spent as much time with Ryou as he could, staying as close to him as possible. Atemu didn't have problems it seemed, not in socialising, he quickly gathered a fanclub of boys and girls, for his duelling abilities, but Bakura refused to duel the way normal people did, deeming it 'boring' and his fanclub was the same as Ryou's, girls obsessed with his appearance. On the scholastic front however Atemu was always at the bottom of the lists, while Bakura was usually just a little above or below Ryou, depending on the subject, it was obvious he should have accepted the place in the next year down.

Not that anyone was going to _tell_ him that. Ryou and Bakura both thought it was funny watching him struggle and fail to keep up, Yugi wasn't going to insult him, besides he and his other friends didn't do much better and no one else knew about what his letter had said. Honda decided that Bakura should tutor them all three weeks into term, but Yugi and Atemu were both reluctant to learn from him, so Ryou offered to deal with them. That meant that Bakura had to separate from Ryou for the tutoring sessions, sessions he'd somehow managed to talk their teachers into giving them a bit of extra credit for. Neither of them _needed_ the extra credit, but it gave them an extra margin in case there was something that messed up their studies, like Battle City had, or Duellist Kingdom. (And that had been the other reason Ryou was still in the same class as Yugi, even if Bakura hadn't realised that. His scores were good enough to move him to a higher class, even with the damage they took from Shadow Magic related issues, but since they were erratic his request to stay with his friends was listened to.)

Bakura worried Ryou, it was little things mostly, he moved wrong sometimes, especially after he started tutoring Honda and Jounouchi, and he never had a biting comment about any of Yugi's friends anymore. And his already high awareness of the world around him increased to the point where Ryou saw him starting at the slightest little thing, looking as if he half expected to be attacked and searching for the nearest escape route. An escape route that he'd _already_ have plotted and planned on an almost instinctive level as Ryou was well aware thanks to their bond. But whenever Ryou tried to bring up his concerns to Bakura he'd stammer and change the subject, avoiding Ryou's eyes more than ever.

Everything came to a head three weeks after Ryou'd started tutoring Yugi and Atemu, when he came home to find Bakura curled up on the couch crying. He sat beside the spirit, gathering him into his arms and rocking him gently, soothingly. He didn't say anything until Bakura finally stopped crying and lifted his head from Ryou's shoulder, exposing a bruise that covered almost the entire right side of his face, including a split lip.

:Do you want to talk to me about that Bakura-kun: Ryou wasn't sure why Bakura hadn't already used Shadow Magic to heal it, like he'd healed Ryou's hand and arm after he'd damaged them in Zork's service. :And do you want me to heal it for you: he had the feeling that Bakura was more likely to talk to him mind to mind rather than verbally, so he used the more intimate way of communicating.

-Honda-sama didn't forbid that. If you wish Ryou-sama.- Ryou suppressed the fury that flared in his mind, and focused on healing his ura.

:What do you mean, 'Honda-_sama_ didn't forbid that'? Tell me what happened to upset you so, Bakura-kun.: And this time it was an order, even if Ryou'd have rather had Bakura tell him willingly.

-I...when I went for their tutoring session Jounouchi-san wasn't there, it was just Honda-sama. He...he was aroused, and I could tell it was because of me.- Did that mean Bakura had some sort of link with Honda now? -I swear, I thought he wanted me to please him.- Ryou didn't doubt that, he'd seen Bakura looking at Honda longingly once or twice, but he knew the spirit didn't think sex was about his pleasure, only about the pleasure of whoever was with him. -I thought that was why Jounouchi-san wasn't there. He wanted to take a break, and I asked if he wanted me to suck him. Then he hit me and threw me out of the house, he...he said I was sick, he despises me.- Bakura trembled, pressing himself against Ryou and sobbing again.

:Is there anything I can do to help:

-Pl-please...show me that I'm not disgusting, that I please you?- Ryou only hesitated for a second, Bakura needed this more than he needed Ryou to go and kill Honda for hurting him.

:Go and get ready for me then.:

-o0()0o-

Ryou took a few minutes to calm his anger at the way Honda'd abused Bakura and to focus on how beautiful and desirable his ura was before going to his bedroom. This would only be the second time he bedded Bakura, despite sleeping in the same bed Ryou'd managed to keep his ura from waking him up with a blow job without hurting him. He'd diverted Bakura's need to feel valuable to Ryou into other areas, like giving Ryou massages and doing the larger share of the housework, Ryou felt less guilty about that than he would have about bedding Bakura.

When Ryou got to his bedroom he found Bakura waiting wrapped up in the sheets, like a present of some sort. He knelt on the bed, kissed Bakura once, and began slowly pushing the sheets away from around his body, only to freeze in shock when he saw the first bruise. He stripped the sheets from his ura's body swiftly, but not roughly, revealing that more than half his body was covered with bruises from a week old to fresh bruises that had to be Honda's doing. Bruises Ryou hadn't even looked for when he was healing Bakura.

"What happened to you Bakura-kun? How'd you get hurt so badly?" Ryou started on healing Bakura as he questioned him.

"I...I've been having problems with bullies." He was flushed deeply in shame, staring at the bedsheet, rather than looking at Ryou. "I...Honda-sama forbade me to hurt anyone, we didn't realise it at the time, but he made me helpless."

"Helpless?" Ryou could almost see that, but... "What about Shadow Magic? You could do what I did the first day of term, use Swords of Revealing Light to hold them in place long enough to get away, without hurting them. Or if that didn't work you could at least use it to heal yourself."

"Honda-sama forbade me to use my Shadow Magic, any magic. I just called up one of our Shadow Monsters to spar with. They're not really people, so I'm allowed to hurt them and you can't spar with someone without hurting them. He saw me with the Earl of Demise and...he was angry with me. He ordered me to dismiss him, and then he told me not to use any magic again." But their mind-link wasn't magic? Or just not magic Bakura controlled so it was all right for him to use it? Ryou dismissed his immediate questions, and focused on controlling his temper.

"That arrogant, ignorant, biased, misbegotten _bastard_!" So he wasn't very successful in keeping his anger under control. He sat beside Bakura, cursing Honda and his mistreatment of Bakura, and his own blindness, while the spirit just lay there trembling. It wasn't until he started threatening Honda that Bakura reacted. "I should curse him myself, see how _he_ likes it being helpless to defend himself against anyone who wants to hurt or abuse him. Or kill him, give it another try at setting you free."

"Pl-please, Ryou-sama." Ryou fell silent when he heard Bakura's pain-filled voice.

"What is it?"

"D-don't say that sort of thing. I _can't_ want Honda-sama to die, or suffer in any way. The only reason I could even hate Zork was that once, after the Pharaoh's priests raped me I told him I should hate him for that, the way he reacted to it. He laughed and told me to hate him all I liked, as long as I obeyed him and feared him."

"You can't be saying that you think what Honda did to you, the way he treats you, is right?"

"I do, I have to. I had to believe everything Zork told me, until he made it clear that all he wanted from me were my fear and obedience, until then I adored him, worshipped him, I had to. I had to believe he was in the right, and that I was avenging my kin, because that's what he wanted me to believe...he never let me know that he was responsible for what happened, because they might have been able to destroy him." Ryou had never realised what the full effects of that curse were, and he wished that he didn't know now. It was nothing short of sickening.

"Hush, it's all right. Zork's destroyed, you're safe from him now. And I'll protect you, I'll keep you safe, I swear. I won't hurt your master, but I will make sure he understands his responsibilities to you." Ryou pulled Bakura into his arms and kissed him again, stroking his hair gently.

"Pl-please, show me?" Ryou would have preferred to avoid that, but...he began the process of arousing Bakura, slowly.

-o0()0o-

"Honda! I want to speak to you!" He'd left Bakura at home, guarded by his deck and under orders to stay where he was. The taller boy turned around, gaping in shock at Ryou's raised voice, and the lack of suffix attached to his name. That gave Ryou a perfect opportunity to throw him up against a wall with Shadow Magic enhanced strength, hard enough to daze him.

"I have a bone to pick with you." Ryou's voice was quiet, and deadly cold. "About how you've been abusing my ura." He dragged Honda through to the Shadow Realm, to make sure they wouldn't be interrupted. His Shadow Magic was strong enough to keep him alive and functional in the Shadow Realm for a while, especially since he wouldn't be duelling.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Honda sounded outraged, feeding Ryou's simmering fury at him. "I haven't done anything to that bastard and even if I had it wouldn't be anything he didn't deserve."

"And you really believe that shit? Bakura-kun is the victim here. He's _always_ been the victim. A little history lesson for you. Bakura-kun's grandfather and Atemu's were brothers. Atemu's grandfather had more powerful Shadow Magic, so he was named Pharaoh. Bakura-kun's father had weaker Shadow Magic than either of his cousins, so there was no chance of an adoption - at that time the next Pharaoh was always the child in the next (or youngest) generation with the most powerful Shadow Magic, and always adopted by the current Pharaoh if need be. Within reason anyway. So long as the most powerful of the generation was no more than a third cousin, or equivalent, to the current Pharaoh. Bakura-kun's father was married to cement a treaty with a group of powerful Mages, from a totally different discipline, they got to settle in Kuru Eruna, and in exchange they were expected to defend Egypt, when they were called to. Atemu's grandfather created Zork, in an experiment gone wrong to make his favoured son, Atemu's father eligible for the throne of Egypt as it was Akunadin, Atemu's _uncle_ who had the most powerful Shadow Magic of his generation. Only one of his descendents would be able to destroy Zork. Zork used Akunadin's resentment of how he'd been cheated to possess and control him. Then Bakura-kun was born; more than three quarters of his power is inaccessible to him, but the power he can use is almost equal to Atemu's. It would have been enough for him to destroy Zork, especially since the power of the people of Kuru Eruna lies in purification - all of which was denied to him - and the adoption that would have been required would give him the necessary blood link to destroy Zork." Honda looked as if he wanted to protest, but Ryou just kept on, overriding anything he tried to say. "So Zork had Akunadin bind a curse to him, the curse you took control of. His mother had a vision just in time to interrupt it, and she ended up controlling him instead of Akunadin. They left the palace because of that, and she returned to her people. Next Zork destroyed the records of the treaty Bakura-kun's parents sealed with their marriage, and manufactured a crisis that he had Akunadin use to destroy Kuru Eruna in the name of protecting Egypt. The Pharaoh's guards committed genocide, and he decided that since it had given him such wonderful weapons it didn't matter that his brother had done this without consulting him. Bakura-kun was the only one to survive, and Zork made him into his slave. For the past three thousand years Bakura-kun has had no more control over his actions than I did when he took over my body."

"He what? No, I don't believe you." Honda was shaking his head in denial.

"Every word I've spoken is true, ask your precious Pharaoh if you can lie in the Shadow Realm, but even if it wasn't that wouldn't change what you did to him. First you forbade him to hurt anyone...guess what, that means he can't even defend himself. Then you said he couldn't use Shadow Magic at all, so he can't even heal the damage the bullies he's helpless against do to him. Finally he offers to pleasure you sexually, because you were aroused when you were alone with him and you tell him that there's something wrong with him. Are you really that narrow-minded? Do you really believe liking men that way's wrong?"

Honda flushed, then went pale, and opened his mouth, but no sound came out. They'd been in the Shadow Realm too long, Ryou pulled them out and left him lying where he fell.

-o0()0o-

Ryou cancelled all of his and Bakura's tutoring sessions the next week. No one protested much, not even Bakura, all it had taken to stop his objections was to ask Honda if he minded the cancelled tutoring and letting Bakura hear his response. And he wasn't going to let Bakura out of his sight, keeping him from protesting with work on a Shadow Magic project to create a spell that would encourage people to reveal their true feelings and make it harder for them to hide things. Nothing coercive, just encouragement, a bit like getting someone drunk, and Bakura worked entirely on the theoretical side to get around Honda's decree. He obviously enjoyed it, smiling at Ryou more than he had since starting at school, and starting to make his biting comments again, at least once or twice. He did ask what the purpose of the spell was, but he was easily put off by a vague answer about matchmaking and a joke.

It took almost the entire week for Honda to make up his mind about what Ryou had told him in the Shadow Realm on Sunday. If he hadn't wanted to get this spell ready before Honda met Bakura again Ryou would have been annoyed about that, but as it was he was just grateful. If Honda hurt Bakura again, deliberately this time, Ryou would have to conclude it was from malice and kill him, but hopefully the spell he'd just completed would keep him from hurting Bakura.

"What do _you_ want?" Ryou made sure his disdain for Honda showed in every word as he opened the door for him.

"I need to apologise to Bakura-kun. Yami-kun confirmed what you told me, about it being impossible to lie in the Shadow Realm."

"I'm not letting you anywhere near him without supervising you. I don't have any reason at all to trust you to treat him decently. Do you remember everything I told you about what you've done to him?"

"Yes, then you accused me of being homophobic." Honda scowled as Ryou led him to the main room, silently casting the spell he'd been working on with Bakura for the previous week.

:Don't tell him about this unless he asks you.: Ryou cut off whatever Bakura was going to say when he sense the spell with a swift command. "Bakura-kun, Honda has a few things he needs to say to you." And that riveted the spirit's attention to the brunet.

"What do you wish to say to me Honda-sama?" Ryou smiled as he saw the complete respect and deference in Bakura's attitude hit Honda like a blow.

"I owe you an apology. I'm sorry about how I reacted when you offered to give me a blow job at our last tutoring session. I shouldn't have hit you, or called you sick. I was disgusted with myself for wanting you, not with you. You used to be our enemy, and I thought I shouldn't desire you because of that."

"I...thank you for your consideration. I didn't expect you to be so generous." And Bakura really meant that, it _hurt_ to hear how he believed the bastard was being generous...but then that seemed to bother Honda too.

"I...think I might like to be with you, but not the way you tried. I'd like to get to know you first."

"You mean...you want to...date _me_?" Bakura sounded shocked and overwhelmed by the idea, Ryou just wanted to scream at his total lack of any sense of self-worth or self-preservation.

"Yes." Honda seemed to hesitate about saying anything else, so Ryou goaded him a little.

"Is _that_ all you have to say? I still don't see much sign of you being any better than Zork, in fact you seem worse."

"Bakura-kun, you're allowed to hurt people if you're defending yourself, or someone else, and you can use Shadow Magic for anything except to hurt people. You may _not_ call a Shadow Monster to hurt anyone. Happy Ryou?" Honda sounded angry that Ryou had called him on his disregard for Bakura, and the spirit was just shivering as they fought over him.

"For now. I'll see you to the door." He didn't say anything else until he'd dismissed the spell he'd cast and they were out of Bakura's earshot. "The first two dates are to be a group thing, and I'll act as chaperone on the next three. I _don't_ trust you, I don't have any reason to. And I _will_ be watching the first time you're together." Ryou let Honda see just how ruthless he could be. He wasn't going to mention that he could have overpowered Bakura at any time, or that he'd only stalled Zork's efforts until he thought Atemu could defeat Zork, holding Bakura to a level just above Atemu's at each encounter and then playing deus ex machina. "If you hurt him, I will kill you, and no one will ever know it was anything but natural causes." Honda gaped, but he must have left when Ryou slammed the door in his face.

-o0()0o-

Ryou refused to hate Honda for how much his orders had improved Bakura's life and disposition when Ryou hadn't been able to do anything. He had better reasons to hate him, for how his first orders had hurt Bakura and left him helpless, and for not noticing how they'd made him into a victim again, a guilt Ryou shared with him. And at least now Bakura was getting better, feeling safer, even if it was because his _master_ had expressed a sexual interest in him. Bakura didn't need to stick so close to Ryou to avoid being hurt by petty thugs, he was allowed to defend himself, and he showed them all just how expert a fighter he was. And the cutting remarks Ryou'd missed hearing so much had started back up again, and now he made them where the others could hear them, not about Honda of course, but about the others. It had helped that Honda'd been amused by more than half of the comments as well, and Bakura seemed to have adjusted his comments to please Honda, which bugged Ryou, but as long as he was still feeling well enough to make them Ryou could live with a slightly altered tone.

The first group date had been almost a disaster. Honda had arranged for them all to go see a movie together, an American import called 'The Mummy'. Bakura had pointed out that the Pharaoh was the _real_ villain of the movie, not his priest, pointing out the similarities between what had happened to Imhotep and how he'd been imprisoned in the Millennium ring against his will. He'd also compared Imhotep to Zork, a monster created by the Pharaoh's stupidity and his followers' cruelty, imprisoned only for a while, then released to plague the world again, in a time those with the knowledge to combat him were near non-existent. Of course _that_ had gotten Atemu angry enough to challenge Bakura to a Shadow Game, only averted when Ryou'd intervened, pointing out that since Bakura couldn't use Shadow Magic to hurt anyone he'd be at a terrible disadvantage. And after all he was only challenging him to salve his pride...over interpretation of a _Hollywood_ _movie_ of all things. A pointed glare at Honda had gotten the brunet to weigh in with support for Ryou since he'd explained that it was Honda's duty to protect Bakura if he couldn't protect himself. It had kept Bakura safe, but hurt his pride, leaving him with bright red cheeks and he didn't offer Honda a goodnight kiss (part of Ryou's briefing for Honda had been to let Bakura initiate all intimacies).

The next group date went a lot better, ice skating and Atemu was too busy learning how to skate to cause any problems. Honda was focused on teaching Bakura how to skate, giving him an excuse to stay by him and touch him while Ryou watched. The rink was big enough that Atemu and Bakura were split up most of the time, keeping them from fighting. It helped as well that Bakura learned how to skate a lot faster than Atemu did since he'd always been a lot more athletic and Honda was a much better teacher for something like that than Yugi ever could be. Jounouchi had tried to get Honda to skate with him, instead of paying attention to Bakura, but Ryou'd recruited Anzu to help him run interference and make sure that Bakura got Honda's undivided attention. Whether he liked Honda or not Bakura was in love with him, and since Ryou couldn't figure out how to _break_ the damn thing, it didn't make a difference that his love was the result of a curse.

It was the first chaperoned date that made Ryou think perhaps Honda might not be such a bad lover for Bakura after all. It was a dinner date, and Atemu had decided to invite himself along to 'protect Honda', so he was posing as Ryou's date. He'd spent most of the meal antagonising Bakura, and Honda'd put him firmly in his place. Ryou heard that he got chewed out by Yugi as well, but whatever the cause Atemu did _not_ invite himself along on the second date, and by the third, at a club with dancing as well as a stage show Ryou had to remind the others that he wasn't going to allow any touching below the waist.

After that date Bakura didn't seem to need to share Ryou's bed at night any longer, and it only took until the fifth date without Ryou there to act as a chaperone for Honda to approach Ryou about having sex with Bakura. The three of them had agreed that after the next date would do fine, and Ryou'd offered to prepare an appropriate atmosphere including lube and condoms.

-o0()0o-

Ryou did feel a bit uncomfortable with the idea of watching Honda make love to Bakura - and he had no doubt that it _would_ be making love - but he wanted just one more bit of confirmation that Bakura would be happy with his master. Ryou could feel Bakura's nervousness as he entered the apartment and led Honda through to his bedroom where Ryou was waiting. Mentally Ryou cursed his lack of resolve as Bakura settled on the bed, but walked over and used a hand to lift his chin.

"Bakura-kun, if this makes _you_ uncomfortable then tell me and I'll leave."

"I'm fine. I...appreciate it that you care about me enough to do this." Ryou nodded, and backed away to the wall, using a hint of Shadow Magic to help Honda disregard his presence. He could have told the other teen about Bakura's preferences, but he'd decided not to, and see how the brunet started.

"Undress me please Bakura-kun." Ryou blinked, that would put _Honda_ in the more vulnerable position at first, something Ryou hadn't even considered, but it might help make Bakura feel safer. Ryou frowned as he saw how Bakura ended up on his knees at Honda's feet after undressing him, but his frown vanished when he saw Honda pull Bakura back up to his feet, then sat on the bed with Bakura on his lap to undress him. Honda's first touches weren't as gentle as Ryou's first touches had been but they weren't going to hurt Bakura, and Honda seemed to learn what Bakura liked much more quickly than Ryou had. Probably because he wasn't hindered by preconceptions Ryou ruefully acknowledged. Honda brought Bakura to the verge of orgasm by biting his nipples then moving his mouth to his neck and using his left hand to manipulate his nipples while his right supported him on his lap. But he averted Bakura's climax by gripping the base of his penis and pulling on his balls before moving him to lie on his back on top of the cotton sheet Honda'd asked Ryou to use to cover the bed. Then he picked the lube up from the bedside table and handed it to Bakura.

"Prepare yourself for me, slowly, give me a show." Passion filled Honda's voice and Ryou approved, this would force Bakura to take appropriate care with himself, and since Honda didn't have a link with him it was the best way to make sure it didn't hurt Bakura.

"Yes Honda-sama." Honda and Ryou both watched Bakura obeying that command, and as he did Honda began to stroke himself and play with his own nipples. "I'm ready for you now." Ryou thought that had been a little too fast - it was certainly faster than _he'd_ prepared Bakura, and Honda seemed to agree.

"Really?" There was doubt in his voice, but he seemed to almost dismiss it as he settled back with his legs open. "Then give me the lube and come suck me." Bakura looked a bit surprised, obviously Zork hadn't liked much foreplay, and Ryou hadn't bothered with any real foreplay focused on himself, but he obeyed and knelt in front of Honda before bending over to suck him, ass in the air. Honda used that opportunity to stretch him a bit more, building up from two fingers, his fingers were larger than Ryou's or Bakura's so that made sense, sort of. Then he pulled Bakura way from his dick and laid him across his lap, sliding his fingers back inside him and fingering him until Bakura came against his thigh.

"Lie back again." Honda's voice showed his amusement, and he began to suck Bakura after he'd obeyed, backing away once Bakura was hard again. "Wrap your legs around my waist." Immediately after Bakura'd obeyed he took the spirit, Ryou noted that he climaxed before Bakura did, and he didn't bother to take care of that himself, ordering Bakura to jerk off while Honda stayed inside him. Ryou wasn't sure he liked that, but it was an improvement on how his ura had described Zork as treating him and it didn't seem to bother Bakura.

Either way it was only a few moments later that Honda stood and lifted Bakura in his arms, carrying the spirit bridal style with a little difficulty and setting him down on his feet with an arm around his waist for support when he reached Ryou.

"Would you mind clearing up while we have a shower together?"

"Should be pretty easy, but I want to talk to you both afterwards."

"We'll meet you in the main room then." Honda lifted Bakura again, this time in a fireman's lift and left without waiting for a response.

-o0()0o-

"Well?" Honda had Bakura in his lap again before he turned to Ryou, obviously waiting to see how he was going to react to what he'd seen Honda do with Bakura. But even though Ryou thought that for the most part Honda'd treated Bakura well it wasn't really his opinion that mattered.

"Bakura-kun, I need an honest answer to my next question, not one influenced by how you think we'll react to it. I won't be angry whatever you say. Honda?" The brunet seemed to know what Ryou wanted of him.

"Neither will I, I promise." That seemed to encourage Bakura, and he looked up at Ryou.

"What do you need to know Ryou-sama?"

"How did you feel about being with Honda? Did you enjoy it?"

"Oh, yes. It...I don't mean to upset you, but it was better for me than being with you was. And I could tell that he _cares_ about me. I need that, you know that I do. I could feel how much Honda-sama desires me, you...cared, no, you _care_ about me, but you don't find me that desirable. You took me to your bed from duty, and to teach me that I could take pleasure as well as pleasing another in bed." Bakura blushed, and turned his face against Honda's chest, Ryou should have been able to tell that it had been good for him just by checking their link and from the look on his face, but getting verbal confirmation helped for Honda.

"Good. Bakura-kun, look at me." Ryou didn't continue until the spirit obeyed him. "I'm telling you this in front of Honda so that he'll understand how I feel. If he ever does anything that upsets or scares you then you can _always_ come to me, in fact I _insist_ on it. Now we've got that over with Honda-kun I should tell you that I approve of you being with Bakura-kun. And there's something else. You can't use Shadow Magic by yourself, you don't even have enough potential to channel the power Bakura-kun can't access, but it could be used to make you stronger and faster...your reflexes would need to adjust naturally. I'd say a ten percent increase would be the maximum safe boost for you." Ryou tilted his head, thinking about what else would be within safe limits for Bakura's inaccessible power. "And you could have him boost your healing rate to about twice what it would be naturally, using the same source of power. You're already linked after all, but the orders would have to be phrased carefully."

"Umm...why would I want to do that?" Honda looked blank, but Bakura had an expression of total understanding on his face, he _wanted_ the power he couldn't use by his own choice to be useful for something, and what better function could it serve than to make his master safer. "I get the healing thing, but the strength and speed?"

"It would give you a better chance if you got in trouble, a fight or something like that where you were outnumbered. Think about it. I can work out the right phrasing for you." Ryou left them then, if Honda wanted his help he'd ask for it, and he didn't need to worry about how Honda'd treat Bakura anymore.

Honda asked Ryou to help him with the phrasing for boosting his healing, and if he could work out something similar to boost Bakura's healing using his blocked power within a week. Ryou was slightly ashamed to admit that it was something he hadn't thought about. But it didn't take too long for him to work out the right phrasing for that as well. That would half the drain on Bakura's accessible Shadow Magic when he needed to heal either of them properly and it wouldn't be noticeable enough to cause suspicion from doctors.

Honda only asked for help with a boost in his strength and speed after an encounter with a gang on one of his dates with Bakura that left the two of them with bullet wounds before Bakura worked out how to counter the guns.

"Why just a ten percent boost?"

"Because this will be something that's active all the time, so it's constrained by the limits of the human body. When I use Shadow Magic to make myself stronger it lasts for at most five minutes, then I revert to normal strength, so I can afford to double or even triple my strength. It won't start as ten percent over your normal strength and speed, it will build over a month or so to that maximum."

"Okay."

Eventually, when Honda moved out of his family's house to go to university Bakura moved in with him, and when gay marriage became legal in Japan they married.


End file.
